Defending your intellectual property

When you have registered your trade mark, it is then your duty to protect it.

You have the power to take active steps to prevent any third party to use or make reference to your mark without your permission. It is up to you to take action against infringement.

There is a number of ways in which you can do this.

Many of these can prevent you from taking the matter to court.

The best piece of advice, however, will be to get the advice of an expert. By using a Trade mark expert, like The Trademarkroom, many actions can be taken out of your hands and dealt with in the best way.

The first action you can take is sending a ‘cease and desist’ letter. This letter can give a warning to the offending party explaining your ownership and explaining any further consequences if they continue to use it. Also at this point if you are open to allowing the other party to use your mark, you can create a license where you can charge a fee for its use.

If this letter does not have the desired effect, you can then take the other party to mediation. Mediation is a way of resolving disputes without going to court. You and the other party will come together to receive the mediator’s independent view on the situation. This is the way in which many IP disputes are resolved.

However, if these efforts do not resolve the issue, you will need to take the other party to court to gain a proper resolution. If you wish to take litigation action, you must gain a trade mark expert’s assistance to ensure your points will be put across properly.

For any information or guidance in relation to defending your intellectual property, get in contact with The Trademarkroom.

By Ellis Sweetenham